Everything
by daydreamer and believer
Summary: Takes place after Episode 2 of Season 10. They're ready for each other finally but then she shows up.  I always thought Lana had bad timing.
1. Chapter 1

**A/N: This story is intended to take place immediately following Season 10 Episode 2 which ended with what appeared to be a flight-ready Clark on his way to Africa. Of course, Episode 3 opened up differently as I do not own _Smallville _or any of its characters.**

Lois stepped off the plane and into the gate ramp tunnel, dragging her carry-on with one hand and turning her phone back on with the other. As she stepped into the brighter, wider space that was the terminal, her phone began to buzz almost continuously.

"That's what happens when it's off for hours," she said to herself through gritted teeth, still reeling from her argument with the flight attendant about how her 'little ol' phone' couldn't possibly 'interfere' with the plane's communications. _Whatever_.

She stepped out of the path of her fellow travelers, near a window, and felt a certain sense of relief to see the Metropolis skyline in the present distance. Focusing now on her phone, expecting call after call from Perry trading about her prompt exodus from Africa, she was pleased to instead see text after text from the one she'd come home for.

"Where r u?"

"R u alright?"

"I'm in Africa"

_What?_ she thought, hitting next.

"I can't find u"

"Ok, news dispatch just said u left 4 home"

"I'm on my way back"

"Hope everything's ok"

"Call or text me please"

"I love u"

She stared at those last words. He'd never said that to her, nor she to him, not even when she'd practically begged him to ask her to stay, not even when she pulled that blue knife from his limp body. She shuttered at that memory and quickly typed her reply:

"Just landed. Will wait for u at farm." _Send_.

"I love u too." _Send_.


	2. Chapter 2

Clark landed in the loft and extracted himself from the red leather flight jacket, pulling his phone from an inner pocket as he tossed the jacket aside. He opened it to see new messages from Lois and smiled. _She's on her way here, good,_ he thought. _Oh, there's another: "I love u too."_ His heart swelled so much that he thought he couldn't contain himself. He tried to straighten up around the loft but found himself constantly looking toward the stairs. What would he say now? What would he do when he saw her? He couldn't wait to hold her again. This was it – time for everything. He was ready. They were ready. Noticing how at ease he felt with the decision, he heard steps and turned with excitement to see her standing at the top of his stairs.

"Lana?"

"Hi Clark," she said, stepping forward once onto the loft platform.

He instinctively moved back, though he realized he felt no pain.

"What are you doing here?" He couldn't hide the shock in his voice.

"Good to see you too," she said, a little embarrassed.

Not meaning to be hurtful, he said, "Sorry, I just …," but he trailed off.

"Oliver called me," she said, stepping forward again. "I came to help find Chloe." She stepped forward once more and was pleased to see he wasn't grimacing.

"Oh, um" was all he could manage as he noticed her moving closer. Why didn't he feel anything? Why wasn't he doubled over in agony?

"Lana?" he questioned, tentatively, and she closed the distance between them, taking his hands in hers.

He looked at her hands holding his with wonder and then his gaze met hers. She saw the question there and smiled triumphantly.

"The levels are diminishing rapidly. There's almost no trace in my blood or skin anymore." She paused, watching his face as it sunk in. Smiling uncontrollably now, she asked, "Isn't it wonderful?"

He stood in what seem to her like awe and whispered, "Yes, wonderful" while still staring at her. She raised herself up, stretching on the tips of her toes, and kissed him gently. He felt as though he were in some sort of trance. He couldn't move. He didn't kiss her back but he didn't push her away either. He was frozen.

Lois, on the other hand, was racing back to her car while quietly sobbing. Once she'd made it to the driver's seat, she steeled herself to keep from breaking down right there. Survival mode kicked in, and she pulled away refusing to glance back as the barn shrunk in her rear view mirror.

Lana watched Clark intently. His lack of response unnerved her. She'd imagined him being ecstatic, grabbing her up and making up for lost time on her lips.

"Clark?" she asked quietly.

He shifted nervously and broke eye contact. He removed his hands from hers and stepped back.

"Are you okay?" she asked, suddenly worried. _That must be it_, she thought, _the traces are getting to him, making him sick, weak, unable to respond. Yes, that's it._

He saw the flash of concern and understood the basis. "No … I mean, I'm okay … no pain …" he trailed off again and averted his eyes.

Reality began to sink in for her. "I thought you'd be happier," she said, timidly, backing away and looking down.

She sat down on the sofa, head in her hands. Clark hated seeing her hurt but he also couldn't help but wonder why Lois hadn't shown up. He knelt on the ground near where Lana set huddled and took a deep breath.

"I'm very happy," he began slowly, "that my friend is well and that we can be friends again."

"You said 'friends' twice," she quipped. "I get it," and she stood quickly turning her back to walk away.

"Lana," Clark said, and she stopped, keeping her back to him. He continued, "I'm so sorry. I never expected any of this." She could hear the sorrow in his voice and felt bad for putting him through all of this.

"I'm sorry too, Clark." She turned to face him. "It was ridiculous of me to think you wouldn't move on. I know neither of us expected me to recover, but I always hoped we'd find a way." She paused. "I guess I thought you did too."

"Lana, I'll always care about you but …," his words were failing him. _How did he tell her the truth without hurting her more?_

"But … Lois?" she questioned knowingly.

"Yeah, Lois," he replied.


	3. Chapter 3

It'd been at least an hour since Lana left and still no sign from Lois. He called several times but no answer. He debated and argued with himself about just going to the Talon. _Why didn't she come? Why wasn't she answering her phone?_ He was going to go insane. He couldn't just sit here anymore. He grabbed his jacket and took off to patrol.

When Clark entered the bullpen the next morning he felt a rush of surprise, excitement and confusion at seeing Lois standing in front of her deck reading something intently. He practically flew to her to wrap her in his arms, who cared who was around. As he closed in on her, she moved from him without so much as a look.

"I'm busy, Clark," she said.

"Lois?" he asked, clearly confused.

She was scurrying around, rambling about a lead, and was out the door before he realized she was gone. He quickly followed her up the stairs and out the front door, getting in front of her before she could cross the street.

"Lois," he said, more definitively this time. He put his hands on her forearms to stop her but dropped them almost immediately when she looked up at him glaringly. Her eyes were red and tired. He'd never seen her so sad, so broken.

"Lois?" He begged, voice cracking, about to break himself. He couldn't stand to see her like this.

She inhaled and said pointedly, "I have to go, got a lead," and she turned to leave.

"But Lois," he squeaked out. She stopped for a split second, but didn't turn around, then walked off, leaving him watching her walking away.

The remainder of the day she ignored his messages and texts and didn't return any of his calls. He couldn't focus on anything, working, patrolling …


	4. Chapter 4

Under a full moon that night, he found himself hovering outside the Talon window, cursing himself for acting like a stalker and her for killing him. He finally made his way to her door. He knocked twice, half expecting her to ignore it, though he knew she was home.

Instead the door swung open and she barked, "Come in," while walking back to the kitchen counter, back to him. He shut the door and said nothing. When she turned around to ask him what he wanted, he was right in front of her. She was unnerved by his proximity. "What do you want," she managed to blurt out, but noted that it didn't sound nearly as harsh as she'd intended. Nonetheless, her tone shook him. _What had happened?_ She wasn't avoiding his eyes anymore, instead glaring at him defiantly. But he could still see the sadness there. He realized he hadn't spoken when she practically yelled at him next.

"CLARK. What do you want?"

He answered as honestly as he'd ever, almost whispering, "You."

Her features softened slightly, but he could tell she was fighting it. He didn't know what was going on. He couldn't understand why she was shutting him out. All he knew was that he felt like he was dying, like someone had shut off the sun. He sunk back away from her slightly and she darted past him to the bathroom, slamming the door behind her. He heard the lock click. He walked toward the door and could swear he heard sobs.

"Lois?" he whispered at the door. "What happened?"

No answer.

"Lois, please talk to me?"

"Lois?" His voice was cracking uncontrollably now.

"Baby, please," he pleaded.

"DON'T CALL ME 'BABY'!" she shrieked at him through the door.

"But … Lois."

"NO! I'm not your 'baby'! I'm not your anything!" He could hear slamming and banging and imagined her throwing things around the small bathroom. He hit the door with his fist, leaving a dent. The impact hushed her.

"Lois … you're … my … _everything_. He said, tears flowing freely from his blue eyes. "Don't you know that? God, Lois, my everything."

Silence. He hit the door again but weaker this time, turned to rest his back on the door and slid down to a slumped position on the floor. He took a deep, ragged hard breath.

"If you … don't… want me," he forced out, "Tell me and … I'll go." He'd struggled to mean the words but the next flowed out with purpose: "But I'm not leaving until I hear you say it. I'm not letting you go that easy again. I can't …."

After a few moments of silence that felt like millennia, he heard the door lock click again. He pulled himself up and turned to faced her as the door opening. They stood staring at each other for a few moments, both breathing shallowly.

She looked at the floor, wringing her hands and said where only he could hear, "I saw you … with Lana."

Confusion, realization, frustration and then relief washed over him and immediately he moved toward her. But she took a step back and it pained him.

"Lois," he began but she interrupted.

"How can you say things _like that_ to me when you still love her?" She still wasn't looking at him.

"Lois," he said moving forward and hunching down to catch her eyes with his. "I love you and only you." He paused, waiting for her to say something. When she didn't, he moved forward again, taking her hand. When she didn't pull away, he pulled her hand to his chest and lifted her chin to face him. "I came to Africa to tell you that I love you ... that I need you. Lois, there's no one else for me. What you saw … I'm sorry … but I told her … you're it for me … you're everything."

She crumbled into him laying her head against his chest and breathing deeply. He wrapped his arms around her and they stood silently, taken with each other.

When she spoke again, her voice was stronger than it'd been. "I thought my heart was being ripped out when I saw her kiss you." He squeezed her. "I never understood why she left and thought you might still think she's the one for you."

"Lois," he practically exhaled her name.

She slid her arms around his waist. "I came home for you, Clark. Don't break my heart."

He squeezed her again then pulled back to look down at her and she up at him. He could see the sadness dissipating. It had killed him that he'd caused that pain but elated him that he was making it go away.

"Lois, if I broke your heart, I'd break my own," he said, and he leaned in for the sweetest kiss they'd ever enjoyed.


	5. Chapter 5

The next morning as the sun came in through the window, they were tangled up in nothing but sheets and each other. She opened her eyes and raised her head from his bare chest to see his eyes closed. He stirred and opened his eyes to catch her staring at him.

"What?" he asked, smiling and wrapping her in his arms.

She smiled back, saying, "Well that's one question answered. I wondered whether you slept."

A flash of acceptance and surprise washed over his face. "Yeah?" he asked. "How many questions do you have, Miss Lane?" He was smirking at her now.

Smiling back, she said, "Oh thousands!" She moved to sit up, but engrossed in him nevertheless. "Like you're super fast … but certainly know how to pace yourself," she added with a sultry look and he blushed a little. "What else can you do? How long have you been this way? How many people have you saved? And what was the deal with the blue knife?"

He stopped her interrogation with a kiss. When their mouths parted, she smiled and he said, "Lois I will answer all your questions, tell you everything but it's going to take a long time."

"Really?" she asked, seemingly giddy.

"Yes," he said. "Good thing we have forever, huh?" He was beaming at her.

"Forever?" she repeated, quietly.

He moved his body closer to hers and took her face in his hands. "Yes, forever. Does that scare you?"

She looked deeply into his eyes. "No," she said confidently. "No, I'm not scared at all," and their lips met again.


End file.
